Friday, 30 March 2018

THE State’s star witness in the rape trial of televangelist Walter
Magaya, Petronella Donhodzo Mandaza, has sensationally claimed she will
not be forced to lie under oath and vowed not to avail herself to
testify against the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) leader.

Mandaza, who last year claimed she had been sexually abused by
Magaya, said in her latest application to the High Court that
Prosecutor-General (PG) Ray Goba was forcing her to testify against the
cleric, despite her confessions that she was never raped and never fell
pregnant at any stage.Magaya is expected to stand trial next Tuesday at the High Court, but
Mandaza said she will never be forced to attend the proceedings and lie
against the clergyman.

In her application, seeking to be excused from attending trial filed at
the High Court on Thursday this week, Mandaza said she was contemplating
approaching the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) to seek Goba’s
disciplinary hearing and also an order compelling the PG to personally
pay the cost of the litigation.“In this application, I seek the following: To indicate to the court
that I will not be appearing in court on April 3, 2018, or on any other
day for purposes of testifying against second respondent (Magaya), to
put Ray Goba on notice that I will be taking up action against him
should he continue his attempt to suborn perjury,” Mandaza said, adding
“to have Goba personally reimburse the costs that I have incurred in
bringing this application. I also seek that he reports to the LSZ for it
to inquire into his conduct”.Mandaza further said although Magaya had been summoned to stand
trial, it was at the instance of Goba, who was insisting on having him
tried on an offence he never committed.

“Second respondent is charged with my rape, unlawful termination of
pregnancy and obstructing course of justice. The charges arise from
false allegations which I made against him before he was indicted for
trial. I made a clean breast and indicated to the first respondent
(Goba) that I had falsely accused the second respondent of raping me,”
Mandaza said.The witness said her confession was the subject of a series of
correspondences in which the PG insisted to put her on the witness
stand.“For the reasons that I still do not appreciate, first respondent
decided to ignore that confession and proceeded to seek second
respondent’s committal to trial. I am obviously the star witness given
that the allegations are that I was raped and made to terminate a
pregnancy. I wish to make it categorically clear that I was never raped
by the second respondent and I have never been pregnant all my life,”
she said. “He (Goba) has instead chosen to become a tool of use in the hands
of certain criminally minded people. He too is behaving like an outlaw,
totally unworthy of the high office that he occupies. I, therefore,
regret that I am unable to appear in court in obedience to the subpoena
which is irregular and invalid,” the witness said.“I am mindful that the first respondent might oppose this
application. I say so because he has shown unbridled malice in the whole
matter. He has behaved in a way which has now made me question his
sanity. I obviously say this with great deference and respect but I must
call it as I see it. Further, whenever I have spoken to him he has
sounded incoherent, unable to construct and follow through a thought
process, drunk and under heavy influence of dangerous intoxicating
drink. It maybe that it is his nature I do not know,” she said.